External Evaluation Report – Master’s Programme ‘Communication for Development’

Background:
In this report we present the results of the external evaluation of the Master’s programme in ‘Communication for Development’ at the Universidad de San Francisco Xavier in Chuquisaca (USFX) held in 2006-2008. The programme has been given in three cities in the southern part of Bolivia; in Tarija, Oruro and Sucre. It was implemented by the Centro de Estudios de Posgrado (CEPI, Centre for Postgraduate Studies) and the Department of Social Communication at the USFX, and received academic support from two external counterparts: the Gimlekollen College in Norway and Misión Alianza Noruega, Bolivia. The Master’s programme has received external funding from the Norwegian Mission Alliance and from Bistandsnemda in Norway.

Purpose/objective:
The terms of reference specify that the external evaluation team should analyse the achievements of the programme and recommend changes and improvements for planning a new version of the Master’s programme in ‘Intercultural Communication’ to be implemented this fall.

Methodology:
The evaluation team has consisted of two persons who both have long experience in teaching, supervision and research at universities in Bolivia and Norway. As part of the work methodology the team has combined conventional methods in the production of data (in-depth interviews with stakeholders, lecturers, supervisors, students; questionnaires, review and analysis of documents) with a participative strategy (by organising and conducting a workshop) in order to convert those evaluated, especially programme stakeholders, into active subjects in the evaluation process. This strategy produced excellent results especially because of the willingness and interest of those responsible for the programme in participating, reflecting and incorporating the achieved knowledge in a new process of redesigning the programme for the next version.

Key findings:
We ascertain that this programme is ambitious in its aims and scope not only because it offers the same teaching programme in three different cities in the southern part of Bolivia to students who basically are active in the labour market, and additionally offers them complete scholarships and provides them with the necessary literature in the form of mini libraries in these three cities. The programme is also ambitious because one of its main objectives is to generate a social and professional impact in the places of work of the Master students.   

An assessment of the social and professional impact of the programme must necessarily form part of a future evaluation. In what we were entitled to evaluate here concerning the aims, academic content, the management and administration of the Master’s programme, we identify several considerable and important strengths; in the quality of the teaching, in the contents of the subjects, and concerning the students’ access to relevant literature. The programme has also been well coordinated academically, and in terms of logistics it has been solidly managed and administered. Furthermore, it has also benefited from the establishment of systematic routines for following up the management of the programme, and it has also been coordinated efficiently at the interinstitutional level. We also register as highly positive that there has been very little desertion of students from the programme, taking into account the reality of Bolivian postgraduates where the drop-out rate is high, something we think reflects a generalised attitude in the students of dedication to and interest in the programme.  

The areas of weaknesses and problems identified are concentrated in the activities related to the planning and elaboration of the thesis. Here we observe a series of obstacles in the work with the planning of the thesis, in the design of its profile and structure, and in the final writing of the text. The most serious problems we encounter are related to supervision of the thesis and the relations between supervisor and student. There are also problems related to the curriculum of the programme since the actual design leaves all courses on the application of method, on doing research and writing of the thesis towards the end of the programme. Two additional problems concern a) the lack of mechanisms to apply the knowledge of the programme to the context of work in order to generate a more evident social impact through the combined academic and professional work of the student, and b) a tendency that the students do not read enough of the available literature taught in the courses; this aspect is also linked to the Bolivian educational reality.

Recommendations:
In the specific recommendations we propose a series of changes and improvements related to the realisation of research and writing of the thesis. We recommend that the supervisor should be better integrated into the academic activities of the programme, and also recommend improving the quality of the supervision, and strengthening the relationship between student and supervisor. We also propose changes that might secure a better work with the profile of the thesis and a better system for approving it. We also recommend introducing mechanisms that might help to transfer knowledge the student has achieved in the programme to his or her context of work. Concerning teaching we recommend a better coordination between the teaching staff of the programme, with the aim of creating a common vision or understanding of the principles, contents, and objectives of the programme and also its philosophical and methodological base lines. We also propose various mechanisms in order to improve the students’ willingness to read. Concerning administration of the programme we recommend improvements in the system of qualifications of the students, in the use of the internet platform for the diffusion of information about the programme, in the logistic routines, and in the promotion of future versions of the programme in public. In addition to these specific recommendations we also propose a new design of the curriculum in order to strengthen the integration of the research-thesis part in the other elements of the programme.

Finally, among the added values to strengthen the management capacity of the programme, we refer to the following points: a) Interinstitutional Committee, b) Social impact of the programme in the context, taking into account the establishment of agreements with institutions working in communication and development, establishing lines of research, and a redefinition of the role of supervision, c) a coordinated teaching team, and d) other activities supporting curriculum development.

Comments from the organisation, if any: